What is a
Christian?

Blaine Robison, M.A.

Sources: Unless otherwise indicated Scripture quotations are taken from the
New American Standard Bible (1995 Updated edition). Scripture quotations may be taken from different versions.
Click
here for
abbreviations of Bible versions. Quotations marked with the initials "BR" indicate the
translation of the author. Bibliographic data for sources
cited may be found at the end of the article.

Terminology: In order to emphasize the Jewish nature of the apostolic
canon and its central figure I use the terms Tanakh (Old Testament),
Besekh (New Testament), Torah (Law), Yeshua (Jesus), and Messiah
(Christ).

Grammar: Unless otherwise noted the meaning of Greek words is from
F.W. Danker, The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
(2009), and the meaning of Hebrew words is from The New Brown, Driver,
Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (1981), abbreviated as "BDB." Explanation of grammatical abbreviations and a pronunciation guide
for New Testament Greek may be found
here.

Introduction

In a survey conducted
more than 17
years ago over 75% of Americans identified themselves as Christian in terms
of religious identification. Since most Americans are not church members,
then survey respondents must be using a very indefinite definition. The
United States has long been described as a Christian nation. (See my article
Is America a Christian Nation?). Within Christianity the term
"Christian" is broadly used to describe someone who has received Christian
baptism, affirms a statement of faith akin to the Apostles Creed, is a
member of a Christian congregation or is a believer in Jesus Christ and his
teachings. More narrowly defined some groups exclude anyone who does
not agree with their doctrine or does not conform to their code of conduct.

The origin of the label
"Christian" may be traced to the Besekh where the word occurs only
three times (Acts 11:26; 26:28 and 1Pet 4:16). Outside of these passages the label "Christian" does not appear consistently as a self-designation
until the publication of the Didache,
Chap. XII (c. 100) (Moseley 13). The Church Fathers, beginning in the
second century,
redefined the nature of being a follower of the Messiah, or Christ. The
church fathers used "Christian" for self-identification as part of the
Church's efforts to totally separate itself from Judaism and expunge the
Jewish roots of the Christian faith (e.g., Ignatius, The Epistle to the Magnesians,
Chap. X.). "Christian" meant someone who had been baptized into the
Church according to the Church's ritual and who submitted to the Church's
authority. Jews who trusted in Yeshua as Messiah and Savior were known as "Nazarene Christians" as
in the apostolic era (Acts 24:2), but because they practiced circumcision
the Catholic Church refused to consider them part of the Body of Messiah
(Augustine, Anti-Donatist Writings,
Book VII.1.)

Even though many Christian scholars speak of the
apostles as having converted to Christianity or even of the apostle Paul as
the father of Christianity, the label "Christian" never occurs in any of his
writings. Paul routinely addressed the members of the congregations in the
letters he wrote as "holy ones" or "brethren."

In order to define the
term "Christian," then, we must begin with the three passages where the name
is found.

First Called "Christian"

"19
Therefore those indeed having been scattered from the persecution having
taken place upon Stephen passed through as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and
Antioch, speaking the word to none except only to traditional Jews. 20 But
there were some of them, men of Cyprus and of Cyrene, who having come
into Antioch, were speaking also to the Hellenistic Jews, proclaiming the
good news of the Lord Yeshua. 21 And
the hand of ADONAI
was with them; also a great number having believed turned to the Lord.22 Now
the report concerning them was heard in the ears of the congregation being
in Jerusalem; and they sent Barnabas as far as Antioch,23 who,
having come, and having seen the grace of God, was joyful and began
exhorting all to remain with the Lord with resolute purpose of heart:24 for
he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faithfulness. And a
large crowd was added to the Lord. 25 Then
he went to Tarsus to seek Saul;26 and
having found him, he brought him to Antioch. Now it happened
indeed for a whole year they assembled them in the congregation, and
taught a large crowd; also firstly called the disciples in Antioch,
'Messianics'. (Acts
11:19-26 BR)

19—
After the martyrdom of Stephen disciples of
Yeshua fled Jerusalem to avoid the wrath of their enemies and traveled into
the Diaspora. Luke records that
some of those who left became evangelists, sharing the good news of the
Messiah wherever they went. Those who were the recipients of the Messianic
message of those scattered from Jerusalem are identified as "traditional Jews"
(Grk. Ioudaioi). 20—
However, some of the evangelists, those originally from Cyprus and Cyrene,
having brought the
message of the Messiah into Antioch, decided to take the message also to
Hellenistic Jews (Grk. Hellēnas).

Antioch, about 300 miles
north of Jerusalem,
was the capital of the Roman province of Syria and the third largest
city in the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria,
having a population of more than 500,000.From the beginning it was a bustling maritime city with its own
seaport. Antioch was a
cosmopolitan city with a mixed population, a
melting pot of Western and Eastern cultures, where Greek and Roman
traditions mingled with Semitic, Arab, and Persian influences.
including a large number of Jewish inhabitants. By the first century their
numbers have been estimated at between forty-five thousand and sixty
thousand (Polhill 71). They
engaged in commerce, enjoying the rights of citizenship in a free city (Ant.
XII,
3:1; Wars VII,
3:3). As Luke records, Antioch became home to a vibrant Messianic
congregation and the base of missionary operations for Barnabas and Paul
(Acts 13:1-3; 15:36-41; 18:22-23).

The majority
of Bible versions render Grk. Hellēnas
in verse 20 as "Greeks."
The translation may rest on the assumption
entrenched in Christian scholarship that the number of Gentile believers in
the apostolic era greatly exceeded Jewish believers and Acts 10−11 tells the
story of that change. The determination of superior Gentile numbers in early
congregations has no biblical or historical evidence to support it, and the
only census data provided is of Messianic Jews in Judea who numbered in the
tens of thousands (Acts 21:20), which Stern extrapolated to equal as many as
a million Messianic Jews worldwide (301).

My translation of
"Hellenistic Jews" is supported by two Bible versions (ISV, MW). Also, John
Gill, noted 18th century Christian commentator, stands almost alone among
Christian scholars to interpret the term here as meaning Hellenistic Jews.
The reasons for interpreting Hellēnas here
as Hellenistic Jews (as detailed in my commentary on
John
7:35) are as followed:

First,
according to lexicon data Hellēn is
not an term restricted to ethnic Greeks (or Hellenistic Gentiles in
general). The Hellēnas certainly
included Hellenistic Jews, that is, Jews who in varying degrees adopted
cultural and lifestyle practices of Hellenism. For the disciples, all
presumptively orthodox Jews who would not enter the house of an
uncircumcised Gentile (Acts 10:28; 11:2), the Hellenistic Jews would have
been the only Hellenists of whom they had any personal knowledge or even
association.

Second,
the hermeneutic Law of First Mention has relevance to this discussion, that
is the first mention of a word governs its meaning thereafter. In the Besekh
the first mention of Hellēnas is in John 7:35 where it is associated
with the Diaspora. "Diaspora" is a term that
only has relevance to Jews.

Third,
when Yeshua and the apostles wished to refer unambiguously to bona fide
non-Jew Gentiles they used the term ethnos (for Heb. goy-goyim,
e.g., Matt 10:5; Rom 1:5). Paul uses ethnos in this manner 48 times
in his letters.

Fourth,
Hellenistic Jews are never called Ioudaioi and if the word Hellēnas
does not include them then there is no reference to such Jews in the
Bible. The Ioudaioi and Hellenas are frequently contrasted
(Acts 14:1-2; 16:1, 3; 17:4-5; 18:4, 19:10, 17; 20:21; Rom 1:16; 2:9-10;
3:9; 10:12; 1Cor 1:22, 24; 10:32; Gal 3:28). For
more discussion on the subject of the categories of Jews see my web article The
Apostolic Community.

Fifth,
for these orthodox Jews the Hellenistic Jews would be the only Hellenists of
whom they would have any knowledge or even association.

Sixth,
the church
father Justin
Martyr (110-165) in
his Dialogue with Trypho (Chap.LXXX)
lists seven Jewish groups, among whom he identifies Hellenists.

26—
Identifying these Antioch
believers as disciples means that they not only believed the apostolic
message and trusted in Yeshua's atoning work for salvation, but they had
surrendered their wills to live within the framework of God's commandments
and were obedient to apostolic authority (e.g., Acts 2:42). They also
committed themselves to developing a spiritual character and devoted
themselves to the advancement of God's Kingdom among Jews and Gentiles (Acts
13:1-3, 52).

called Messianics: Grk. Christianoi,
the pl. of Grk. Christianos, an adherent of one called "Christ,"
the Jewish Messiah. Christian versions
translate the noun as "Christians." Stern has the singular "Messianic." The
OJB has Ma'aminim HaMeshichiyim (Messianic Believers). The TLV has
Christianoi with a marginal note that the noun corresponds to the Heb.
M'shichim (Messianics), lit. "anointed ones."

The
name was formed by adding ianos to Christos, the word for
Messiah. In early times of the Roman Empire, the
adjectival termination -ianos was widely applied to slaves belonging
to the great households, but by the first century it had passed into regular
use to denote the adherents of an individual or a party ("Christian,"
ISBE). The same meaning may be found in the Latin Christianus.
The suffix ianus (pl. iani) was commonly used to designate
followers of a particular leader or camp, or what might be considered
partisans. Early historical documents speak of Caesariani and
Pompeiani, that is, partisans of Julius Caesar and Pompey (e.g.,
Josephus, Ant.
XIV, 7:4). The Herodiani or Herodians were partisans of King
Herod (Matt 22:16).

Since
Christianos is built on the title Christos, the expected
fulfiller of the hopes of Israel for an end-time deliverer, the Anointed One
or Messiah, then a Christianos would be a follower of this Jewish
Messiah, Yeshua of Nazareth. Thus, the label not only says something about
whom they follow, but something about status and spiritual condition as
well. Indeed, the universal experience of the ones who followed Yeshua is
their anointing with the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 4:27; 10:28; 2Cor 1:21; 1Jn
2:27). Stern, reflecting the common assumption of scholars, interprets
Christianos as referring to Gentiles (262), because of the assumption
that Hellēnas in verse 20 above means "Greeks" or "Gentiles."

Stern's
statement that first century Jewish believers preferred to be known as The
Way (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22; cf. John 14:16; 2Pet 2:21) or
Natzratim or Notzrim (Nazarenes, Acts 24:5) is misleading,
because in context these labels identify the disciples as a sect of Judaism.
The few occurrences of Christianos in the Besekh do not prove
restricted usage to Gentiles. In fact, King Agrippa uses the term as a label
Paul advocated (Acts 26:28) and Peter uses the term in writing to Messianic
Jews in the Diaspora (1Pet 4:16). The fact that the verse here identifies
the occasion of the first use of Christianos, written as it
were at least 15 years after the fact, hints at widespread usage by the time
of the writing, as the other two passages confirm.

Three sources of the name
Christianos have been suggested by scholars (Polhill 73). First, some
argue that the term originated with Roman officials of Antioch who saw these
disciples as a political entity that posed some possible threat to Roman law
and order. Second, some argue that pagan Gentiles contrived Christianos
in order to mock the disciples because of the historical meaning of the
ianos suffix. Third, some, as Matthew Henry, would say that the
Christians themselves originated the name, suggesting that the Greek verb
should be translated as "called themselves Christians." However, there is no
pronoun "themselves" in the verse.

A fourth source, a
variation of the third, is that the apostles actually came up with the name,
because of the subject of the action in the verse is Barnabas and Saul
(Clarke). Three specific actions are mentioned and all three verbs are
aorist infinitives ("assembled," "taught" and "called"). The aorist tense
generally describes a completed event. An infinitive is a verbal noun, which
may express
either the purpose or the result of the apostolic action. Taken together the three verbs describe a process, similar to a probationary
system, in which the uninitiated Hellenists were brought together and
introduced to good news (such as in Acts 13:14-41). The ones
who responded favorably were then taught more intensively for a year until
they could be deemed to be full disciples and Messianic. (Cf. Acts 18:11;
19:10; 20:31 for similar lengthy periods of instruction.)

The verb "assembled"
especially emphasizes the Jewish setting. The Grk. verb sunagō is the
basis for the noun sunagōgē, or synagogue. The verb sunagō
occurs frequently in the LXX to describe the gathering of the Israelite
people for worship or learning. While sunagō has its non-religious
uses (such as in the harvest parables), whenever it occurs in a religious
context it almost always has a Jewish setting (e.g., Matt 13:2; 22:41;
28:12; Luke 22:66; John 11:52; Acts 4:5, 27; 12:12; 13:44; 22:30).

Given the consistency in
the grammatical forms of the verbs it makes reasonable sense that the ones
who "assembled" and "taught" also "called" their graduates "Christians."
Clarke concluded as much, that if the name was given by divine appointment,
it is most likely that Saul and Barnabas were directed to give it. Saul, who
had the Latin name Paul and was multi-lingual, could have coined the term
himself, and if so, the mention of the name by King Agrippa in response to
Paul's message is even more significant. The apostles would certainly have
not given an incorrect name to these disciples. That name would be based on the
identity of the Anointed One of Israel (Messiah) and Son of God.

Additional Note: Christian or Chrestian?

Some scholars suggest
that "Christianos" in the New Testament may represent a textual
correction of the Latin label Chrestianus, because Christ (Grk.
Christos) was confused with Chrestos ("useful") from the Latin
Chrestus, a slave name. The historical situation is alluded to in Acts
18:2 where Luke mentions that Jews had been expelled from Rome by Caesar
Claudius (about A.D. 49). The cause of the expulsion is explained by the Roman historian
Suetonius (c. 75-160 A.D.) who said, "Since the Jews constantly made
disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from
Rome" (Lives of the Twelve Caesars,
Book V, 25:4).

There are also some Latin
editions of The Annals of Imperial Rome (XV, 44) by Tacitus (56-117
AD), another Roman historian, that spells the name in the same manner as
Suetonius and also refers to Chrestiani as the ones Nero blamed for
the infamous fire (Gruber 141; ISBE). Polhill mentions that other ancient
writers, as Pliny and Lucian, also use the spelling Chrestiani,
"which betrays the Roman unfamiliarity with Christos" (72). However,
it's important to remember that these histories were written long after the
events, later than Luke's writings.

Scholars debate whether
Suetonius was referring to "Christ" (Grk. Christos) or not. After
all, Chrestus-Chrestos is a personal name and Christos
is not. However, Tacitus clearly identifies Chrestus as one who
suffered under Pontius Pilate. The mistaken use of Chrestus and
Chrestiani continued, because both Justin Martyr (103-165 AD) in his
First Apology (IV)
and Tertullian (160-220 AD) in his Apology (III)
protested being called "Chrestian." In the early fourth century Lactantius complained that ignorant non-believers were accustomed to refer
to "Christ" as "Chrestus" (Divine
Institutes, IV, 7:5). In the fifth century Paulus Orosius, in his
History Against the Pagans, believed Suetonius spoke of Christ. Orosius
quoted the above words from Suetonius' history and changed Chrestus
to Christus (Book
VII, 6.15) (Gruber 141).

Some uncorrected copies of
Codex Sinaiticus (4th Cent.), which contains the entire New Testament, has
Chrēstian in all three passages (BAG 895). Metzger says that Codex
Bezae (6th cent.), supported by other Western witnesses, reads "Chreistianoi"
in Acts 11:26 (344). It should be noted however, that only a small number of
New Testament manuscripts have "Chrestian." Yet, John Dickie in the ISBE
article says, "On the whole it seems probable that this designation, though
bestowed in error, was the original one." Gruber attempts to make the case
that the minority of MSS with Chrestian are more correct than the
majority to assert that this is the true original name of Gentile disciples,
while acknowledging that Christos was never mistakenly copied as
Chrestos (139). These
scholars ignore the reading of Christianos in Vaticanus, which is
dated at the same time as Sinaiticus, but also the
Didache, which is dated two centuries earlier, c. AD 100.

Little considered by scholars
is that the Roman historians who wrote later than Luke may have deliberately
changed the names Christos and Christianos out of prejudice
and hatred of this religious faction that refused to bow down to Caesar.
After all, the disciples spoke of being the douloi (lit. "slaves") of
the Jewish Messiah (Acts 4:29; cf. Acts 2:18), who was the "slave" (Grk.
pais) of God (Acts 3:13; 4:27). So, calling the Jewish Messiah by the
slave-name Chrestos served to diminish his dignity. The probability
of this explanation is reinforced upon consideration of the source of the
original naming. In any event the fact that pagans incorrectly identified
the name of the Messiah and his followers as reproduced in the Roman
histories is annoying, but irrelevant. The earliest and majority of New
Testament MSS have Christianos and that is all that matters.

Almost a Christian

"King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you
do." 28Agrippa replied to Paul, "In a short time you will persuade
me to become a Christian." 29And Paul said, "I would wish to God,
that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me
this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains." (Acts 26:27-29
NASB)

In Acts 26:28 King
Agrippa used the term Christianos with the apostle Paul who was on
trial, demonstrating its cultural acceptance as a useful label for devotees
of the one called Christos who had been crucified under Pontius
Pilate. Agrippa was a Jew and an expert in all matters of Jewish knowledge
and custom (26:3). So, what did the term Christianos mean to him? At
the very least a "Christian" was someone who believed the message of Paul.
What was this message? First, the message could be summarized as fulfillment
of the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Acts 26:6). Second, a
Christian is one who turns from darkness to light, from the dominion of
Satan to the Kingdom of God (26:18). Third, a Christian is one who repents
and produces works of repentance (26:20). Fourth, a Christian is one who
believes in the inspiration and authority of the Torah and the Prophets
(26:22). Fifth, a Christian is one who understands that the Messiah had to
suffer and believes that Yeshua rose from the dead (26:23).

At the end of the sermon
Agrippa declared to Paul, "You are out of your mind." (26:24) and then gives
his famous verdict on Paul's invitation to become a disciple. Agrippa the
Jew was not saying, "almost you persuade me to become a Gentile (or Catholic or
Protestant)." Instead, Agrippa the Jew responds with a sincere
admission to Paul's message, the
Jewish good news. So, he in effect says, "almost you persuade me to become
Messianic." Such would have been a dangerous profession for Agrippa to make,
because supporters of Caesar might well conclude that Agrippa was switching
loyalty to a pretender to Caesar's throne.

Pride as a Christian

"if
someone speaks, let him speak God's words; if someone serves, let him do so
out of strength that God supplies; so that in everything God may be
glorified through Yeshua the Messiah — to him be glory and power forever and
ever. Amen. 12 Dear friends, don't regard as strange the fiery ordeal
occurring among you to test you, as if something extraordinary were
happening to you. 13 Rather, to the extent that you share the fellowship of
the Messiah's sufferings, rejoice; so that you will rejoice even more when
his Sh'khinah is revealed. 14 If you are being insulted because you
bear the name of the Messiah, how blessed you are! For the Spirit of the
Sh'khinah, that is, the Spirit of God, is resting on you! 15 Let none of
you suffer for being a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or a meddler in
other people's affairs. 16 But if anyone suffers for being Messianic [Christianos],
let him not be ashamed; but let him bring glory to God by the way he bears
this name." (1Pet 4:11-16 CJB)

For Peter a
Christianos is someone who serves in the name of the Messiah (v. 11), but then
in verse 16 he then adds the dimension of suffering. The reference alludes
to identification by adversaries of disciples and particularly as a
convenient legal term for ruling authorities. Two important facts need to be
considered, one from the biblical context, that his audience are primarily
Messianic Jews, and the other from the historical context, that the
suffering mentioned here is not specifically caused by the Roman government.

The first important fact
is that the introduction to Peter's first letter implies that he is
addressing primarily Messianic Jews (including Jewish proselytes who later
accepted Yeshua), since he was "an apostle to the Circumcised" (Gal 2:7–8):
"to the chosen ones [Grk. eklektos] who are living as aliens [Grk.
parepidēmos] in the Diaspora [Grk. Diaspora]" (HNV). The HNV
gives the most literal translation. Three specific points of identification
indicate Peter's Jewish audience. (1) eklektos is used in the LXX for
the descendants of Jacob and the nation of Israel with whom God made an
eternal covenant (Num 11:28; Ps 89:3; 105:6, 43; 106:5). Most versions put
"chosen" at the end of the verse or into the beginning of the second verse,
but Peter actually begins his greeting by identifying their covenantal
heritage.

(2)
Parepidēmos means "staying as a resident foreigner" and thus "resident
alien" or "sojourner." The word is only found three times in the New
Testament (also Heb. 11:13; 1Pet 2:11) and only once in the LXX of Genesis
23:4 where Abraham describes himself as a sojourner in Canaan. In Heb 11:13
parepidēmos is used to refer to the patriarchal and Israelite heroes
of faith listed there. In 1 Peter 2:11 the noun is set in contrast to the
Gentiles mentioned in verse 12.

(3)
Diaspora was the name given to the lands where the Jews were scattered from
captivity in Babylon. Many Jews returned to Israel, but in the centuries before
Yeshua many
more migrated westward to Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece, Italy and the islands of the
Aegean (Tarn & Griffith 219). The Jewish historian Josephus quotes the Greek
geographer Strabo as saying: "It is hard to find a place in the habitable
earth that has not admitted this tribe of men, and is not possessed by them"
(Antiquities of the Jews, XIV, 7:2). All of these settlements became
the starting point for the apostles to proclaim the good news of the
Messiah.

Stern points out,
however, that Gentiles who did not convert to Judaism but trusted in the
Jewish Messiah and joined with the Jewish believers are counted along with
them, since by their trust such Gentiles have been grafted into Israel (Rom
11:17–24, Eph 2:11–16). What should be obvious is that the three points of
identification in no way means "the Church," as opposed to "the Jews" as
conceived today in Christianity.

The second important fact
is that the instruction concerning suffering alludes to the Jewishness of
the audience. The book of Acts records numerous incidents of open hostility
by unbelieving Jews, particularly Judean leaders, against the Jewish
apostles of the Messiah, but only four incidents of Gentile hostility. In
2 Corinthians 11:24 Paul says he received 39 lashes five times from
unbelieving Jews. In his letter to the Hebrews Paul lists various sufferings
experienced by Messianic Jews, such as public reproaches, imprisonment, and
seizure of personal property (Heb 10:32-34). However, he reminds them they
had not yet shed blood for their faith (Heb 12:4). Both Paul's letter to the
Hebrews and Peter's first letter occurred well before Nero's persecution in
which the two great apostles suffered martyrdom.

Having established the
Jewish audience and context it may seem strange that Peter, rather than
eschewing the name Christian, actually encourages the Jewish disciples to
take pride in the name. After all, he probably
knows the apostolic origin and the original meaning of the name. Given the
Jewish context for the name Christian, one might reasonably wonder why
some Jews who believe in Yeshua as their Savior choose to be known as
Messianic Jews rather than Christians. Indeed, in the nineteenth century
Jewish believers sometimes identified themselves as Hebrew Christians. This
label served to emphasize Jewish heritage while associating with the Church.
The designation "Messianic Jew" really came into vogue in the great revival
among Jews that followed the Six-Day War in 1967. The preference for
"Messianic Jew" is clarified by David Stern:

"'Messianic' comes from 'Messiah,' which has meaning to Jews; whereas the
words 'Christ' and 'Christian' are not only alien to Jewish culture and
religion but represent the banner under which the Jewish people experienced
centuries of discrimination, persecution and murder. And although 'Hebrew'
may have had an elegant ring in the nineteenth century, today it sounds
quaint—no Jew today calls himself a 'Hebrew.'" (262)

These Jewish believers
also prefer not to be known as Christian, since it can have an exclusive
meaning in many denominations of Christianity and historically Christianity
worked hard to separate itself from any taint of Judaism. For a Jew to call
himself a Christian means turning his back on Moses and Torah and conforming
to a particular denomination's position on what it means to be Christian.

Conclusion

So, what is a Christian?
It is a great
tragedy of history that this wonderful name coined by the Jewish apostles
should be separated from its Jewish roots and revised, if not diluted, in
its meaning. Most of those who identify themselves as "Christian" know
little of the name's origin and its significance. While the word "Christian"
occurs only three times in the New Testament its meaning is reflected in
numerous other passages. Based on the foregoing analysis the principal
elements of definition may be identified.

·
Believer in Yeshua. A Christian, as demonstrated in
the Antioch evangelism narrative is one who (1) believes in the Jewish good
news that Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel and the fulfiller of covenantal
promises, and (2) one who trusts in God for forgiveness of sins on the basis
of Yeshua's atoning sacrifice.

·
Disciple of Yeshua. A Christian, as
indicated in the Antioch narrative, is a disciple of Yeshua. A Christian
recognizes Yeshua as his Teacher in the ways of God and seeks to fulfill all
that he commanded. A Christian also recognizes apostolic authority and
treats their writings and instruction with respect and obedience.

·
Servant of Yeshua. A Christian, as
determined by the original meaning of the suffix of Christianos,
is a "servant" of Yeshua. Followers of Yeshua are identified as "servants"
(Grk. doulos) 22 times in the Besekh. The frequent usage of doulos
in the Besekh for Yeshua's followers indicates His possession and absolute
authority. A Christian is the property of Yeshua and He is the Christian's
Master.

·
Partisan for Yeshua. Unlike first
century partisans who gave their allegiance to a political leader, a
Christian is first an adherent or supporter of Yeshua, as well as the cause
of the Great Commission to take the good news to the Jews first and then the
nations of the world. This meaning of "Christian" may be found in the
numerous passages that refer to "belonging to Messiah" or being "in
Messiah." A Christian has an unbending spiritual and emotional allegiance,
one that will not be compromised, even in the face of persecution or death.
Yeshua is Lord and the soon-coming King!

·
Messianic for Yeshua. A Christian,
given that the name is built on the word Christos, the Greek
translation of the Heb. Mashiach, Anointed One or Messiah, is by
definition Messianic. That is, a Christian recognizes his status of being
grafted into the Olive Tree of Israel (Romans 11) and admitted to
citizenship in the Commonwealth of Israel (Eph 2:12), accepts the enduring
nature of God's covenants with Israel, and supports efforts to bring the
good news of Yeshua to all Jews and the nation of Israel. Moreover, the
Messianic or Christian is anointed by the Holy Spirit for service. The truth
is, we need more truly Messianic Christians.

In the winter of 2008 I
taught a college-level course called Introduction to the Old Testament
at the Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, KS. One of my students was a
Karaite Jew and he added much to our discussions of the Tanakh. After a few
sessions, he interrupted my lecture to ask, "What kind of Christian are you?
You're not like any Christian I've ever heard." He was puzzled because I
demonstrated acceptance of Torah (Law of Moses) as authoritative Scripture
and asserted that Yeshua had not canceled the Torah, contrary to the belief
of many professed Christians. I replied, "Well, I guess you could say I'm a
Messianic Christian." He nodded his head in complete understanding and was
interested in learning more of the Messianic perspective.

You, the reader, should
answer the question for yourself. What kind of Christian are you? Or, if you
prefer not to use that name for yourself, how many of the characteristics
listed above reflect your faith and life in Yeshua? For myself, I want to be
like these Antioch Messianic Jewish Christians. To be this kind of New
Testament Christian is a high calling.

Works Consulted

BAG: Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. trans. W.F. Arndt &
F.W. Gingrich. The University of Chicago Press, 1957.